Two RNLI Lifeboat skippers have revealed how they took their own decisions to launch in the search for the doomed Plymouth fishing boat Solstice last month in 'frustration' at a lack of action by the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency).

Plymouth lifeboat coxswain Dave Milford has spoken out because of a 12-hour launching delay in July 2015 search for the scalloper JMT in which two young Devon fishermen's lives were lost. Mr Milford said: “I swore to God then that that would never happen again."

He and Looe helm Clive Palfrey said the MCA control room seemed reluctant to launch the lifeboats - so they took the decision into their own hands.

Mr Palfrey and Mr Milford heard via the radio and from colleagues that the Solstice , with three crew, was long overdue at Plymouth harbour on the evening of September 26.

They tried calling the coastguard to offer help after more than an hour passed with no instruction to launch.

Solstice PH199 (Image: Facebook)

Mr Milford, 64, a lifeboatman for 30 years, claimed a coastguard officer initially argued against launching.

The Plymouth boat Solstice had overturned, claiming the life of much respected fisherman Tony Jones.

His son Nick and fellow crew member Chris Wonnacott, survived after clinging to the hull of the Solstice PH199 for seven hours until they were plucked to safety by lifeboat crews in total darkness at 3am.

In July 2015 Shane Hooper, 33, a father-of-three from Teignmouth, was found dead in a lifebelt after the sinking of the Brixham-based scalloper JMT. The body of skipper Mike Hill, 22, was found a year later.

The JMT had also failed to return after a day's fishing.

It was later claimed that Mr Hooper may have survived in the lifebelt for up to six hours after the sinking.

Calls are now being made to change the lifeboat launch procedures after cutbacks in the MCA's services. Controversial cuts saw the number of 24-hour coastguard centres go from 19 to 10 in 2014.

It comes after a third fatal incident in two years when a fishing vessel has sunk or overturned and there was a delay launching lifeboats.

The MCA initially claimed to The Times that it had launched lifeboats as soon as it was told the Solstice was missing.

It later admitted that it had “tasked” the Plymouth lifeboat about an hour and a half after the first call. The MCA said: “We always seek to verify the information received, establish the level of risk to life and review options.”

Eventually there was a massive search with rescue helicopters from Newquay and Lee-on-Solent, the Plymouth Coastguard Rescue Team and the Plymouth, Looe and Salcombe RNLI lifeboats were all searching the area, alongside a Border Force vessel, two Royal Navy warships and other local vessels joined the operation.

Coastguard search grid for the missing boat

But a campaign now claims that the UK Coastguard could be risking lives because it is too slow to start rescue operations.

A petition has been launched demanding that the government changes its protocols and reviews staffing levels at stations.

Marine consultant Terri Portmann, from Plymouth, started the petition after hearing concerns from within the industry and rescue services.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) argued its processes ensured the most effective deployment of search and rescue resources.

Lifeboats normally launch only after an instruction from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Springer Spaniel Donnie has been missing since Tuesday night's tragedy

The body of Mr Jones’s springer spaniel Donnie was later washed up.

Mr Milford told The Times that delay in launching could have cost the lives of the rescued men as well who had been freezing on the upturned hull for seven hours.

The coxswain said he had been determined that there should not be a repeat of an incident in July 2015, when two Plymouth fishermen died after a 12-hour delay in launching lifeboats.

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Mr Palfrey, 46, a lifeboatman for 17 years, said: “There seems to be sometimes a reluctance to launch a lifeboat.”

"We need to see the government take swift action."

South West RNLI lifeboat volunteers were also said to have criticised delays.

But both the RNLI and MCA said that rescue operations were "routinely reviewed" and said there was a formal process which allowed any concerns raised by RNLI volunteer crew members to be discussed.

An MCA spokesperson said its operating procedures were "designed to develop an accurate situational picture to ensure the most effective deployment of search and rescue resources are sent to the right area".

The spokesperson added that "in numerous cases, this cuts vital minutes off the time taken to locate casualties, saving lives".

Mr Pollard told transport secretary Chris Grayling that he was very concerned about the loss of experienced staff.

He also suggested that complex IT systems and new protocols could be contributing to a greater risk in search and rescue operations if they delay the tasking of lifeboats.

Watch the full debate in the video below.

GPS lifejackets to prevent tragedies at sea

Yesterday it was annoyed fishermen in Plymouth are to be given state-of-the-art lifejackets in a bid to prevent future tragedies at sea.

Plymouth City Council has ordered 250 lifejackets with built-in locators, which give off distress signals to help identify the exact location of crews in the event of an emergency.

After applying for funding last September, the council has been awarded £77,000 from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Maritime Management Organisation for the scheme, which it is hoped will help reduce loss of life and accidents within the local fishing industry.